#typsetting

Zero's Book Binding - Two-Point Perspective

Two-Point Perspective by @festiveferret

Fandom: Marvel - MCU

Ship: Steve/Tony

Start Date: 7/22/24

End Date: 8/18/24

Pages: 263

Yes, we're going backwards in my binding timeline - but I do love all my children, so I'll be posting them here too!

Two-Point was my first attempt at a 3-piece bradel cover. Should have watched a few more tutorials for how to do one before winging it and just doing what I thought would work - but in the end I think at least the cover and how it's attached is...fine. Cover art the this one is pretty fire, imo, both the front and back.

Here's the spine - which is the most disappointing part of this whole bind. Totally my fault. With trying to keep the color consistent I kept the gray for half the spine - should have used the blue vinyl from the cover instead. So it's VERY hard to read in photos, and a little muddy in person.

This is how we learn...anyway!

The typset for this simple - with an architect vibe. The headers get more and more complex the further into the story it goes. I really LOVE the drop caps for this one too.

Also added in the letter Steve gets from the National Omega Servies at the front of the book - you know, for a treat. I want to make it look as typed up and general looking as possible - and hand filled out where the most important information would be. Just, you know, who your bonded's number was. No big deal.

Keeping the architect drafting vibe, i did a customs little info plate with the fic info in it....

PAGES: 512

SIGNATURES: 32

TYPEFACES: Hertine for the titles and headers; Sabon for the body

The fun part is the paragraph dividers/fleurons. I took a cue from “oh autumn, oh teakettle, oh grace” and used Unicode characters of emojis.

ghostwalks (gin and fog) uses theater masks 🎭

into the great laugh of mankind uses sunrise over mountains 🌄

lilies of the valley uses bouquet 💐

oh autumn, oh teakettle, oh grace uses fallen leaves 🍂

Because You’re There uses snow-capped mountain 🏔️

the sad things i know about you uses open book 📖

surface of last scattering uses the astrological symbol for Earth, a sun cross  ⊕

Letterpress is a form of relief printing where words or forms are composed using movable type and set into the bed of a press, before being printed. Traditionally typesetting involves selecting individual letters from a type case, placing them in a composing stick and finally transferring those to a larger type chase or form. Of course there is room for experimentation with juxtaposing type sizes and different fonts. 

For the first piece I wanted to keep it simple with just a few lines of text from ‘Call Me By Your Name.’ Though composing the type took a little time I found it very therapeutic and once I got a rhythm going I really enjoyed it. I particularly liked the performative aspect of building up the furniture around the type. This image of the furniture and the spacers all barricading the type in place I think I like more than the printed outcome itself. 

Following on from the morning’s typesetting taster we were then given free reign to experiment and play a little. Obviously I struggled this week to continue the trend of using my face in the workshops so I opted to type it instead.

I feel that these prints were more successful as they have a bit more interest to them. The grain from the wood and the wear and tear from being using over and over really has a positive effect on the overall image. There is a nice poetic quality of using text as image, particularly the word ‘face’ that has many knocks and scrapes running throughout it. 

Print shop, The University of Iowa, 1940s?

Photographer: Kent, Frederick W.

This is the first book I'm doing as part of my Archive Anthology series. Now I only need to:

Do the art for the cover

finish laying the cover out

Pick my final font

finish the TOC for this book

Creativity has been in short supply for the last month or so. My job has been eating me alive since October started, I took a long overdue trip to see my family, and ...welll.....gestures to the first week of November.